The invention is directed to a sound-producing reed for wind instruments made from fiber-reinforced plastic.
Numerous wind instruments are provided with a sound-producing reed, e.g., saxophones and clarinets among others. These instruments have a mouthpiece to which the reed is fastened in a suitable manner, e.g., by means of a reed clamp. There are also instruments having double-reeds, e.g., oboes and bassoons.
Generally, cane wood is used to manufacture such sound-producing reeds. The disadvantage to wooden reeds lies in their very limited durability and very costly manufacture. Moreover, every wooden reed must be broken in: every time the wooden reed is attached to the mouthpiece of the instrument--that is, not only when an unused, new reed is used for the first time--a break-in period of roughly one half hour is required. During this period, the playing properties of the wooden reed change as a result of taking on moisture. Also, this natural material is very sensitive. In particular, tears frequently occur in the region of the tip of the reed rendering the reed unusable.
It is also known to manufacture sound-producing reeds from plastic. However, the sound produced by these reeds falls far short of the quality which can be achieved by wooden reeds. Moreover, it is necessary at least to accustom oneself to the surface structure or texture and many players reject such reeds for this reason.
Finally, it was attempted to produce sound-producing reeds from fiber composites or fiber-reinforced plastic. However, the sound quality which could be achieved by reeds of this type was still such that many players of wind instruments were compelled to use wooden reeds in spite of the disadvantages mentioned above.
The object of the present invention is to provide a sound-producing reed for wind instruments from fiber-reinforced plastic which has substantially improved sound qualities, playing characteristics which very closely approximate those of wooden reeds, and a surface texture which is very pleasant to the user.